MANGO ON MENU: We’re talking of mangoes again, because many readers picked up the subject and continued to discuss it in their email.

The Philippine “mangga” (mangifera indica) is one of only a dozen edible species in that fruit family. Of the varieties grown in the Philippines, those from Guimaras appear to be, so far, the choice of exporters.

We reported of Guimaras mangoes’ gaining a toehold in the US market with the recent shipping, and the brisk selling, of a test batch that sold in some stores for almost $2 a piece! As expected, among the most voracious customers were FilAms themselves.

We also raised the side issue of Mexican mangoes being sold in the US as “manila” mangoes and wondered aloud why the Manila label is not reserved for the truly Philippine variety. It turned out there’s nothing we can do about that “usurpation” of a name.

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MANILA D’BEST: But don’t shed a tear. From New Jersey, a reader with the username Apm0523 said: “My neighbor is originally from India. When I mentioned to her that in the Philippines, we call the little green mango variety Indian mango; I was pleasantly surprised when she revealed that in India, they call the larger, sweet yellow variety, Philippine mango.

Ma. Luisa D. Unson, whose family lived in El Salvador (Central America) for 18 months many years ago, reported that over there, they grow cotton, coffee, sugarcane, mangoes and some coconuts. “The countryside looks so much like here except for the cotton,” she said.

“Their best mangoes are called ‘mango manila’ and are just like ours,” she continued. “They have a dish called ‘mondongo’ (basically a mole dish) which turns out to be our kare-kare without the bagoong! Their tamales are made of corn (which the Cebuanos have) and can be had sweet or salty. They even have a salty version of the Visayan ‘piyaya.’ Instead of muscovado stuffing, theirs have adobado meat and white cheese — also cooked over a griddle. Just like the ‘piyaya,’ the name of these savories also starts with a ‘p’ — ‘pupusas.’”

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JAPAN TOP IMPORTER: With the fruit now out of season, the May-June probing shipment to the US totalling only 91,920 kilograms may be the last for the year, based on figures of the BPI quarantine office.

Japan is an older and bigger market for Philippine mangoes, accounting for 3,767,823 kgs from January to June this year. Last year, Japan imported 5,162,198 kgs of fresh mangoes.

Korea is another new but expanding market. From February to June this year, South Korea imported 333,829 kgs. Last year, its mango imports totaled 260,999 kgs.

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CEBU EDGED OUT: Our Pinoy55 brods are asking why their Cebu mangoes have been beaten to the export market by Guimaras when their mangoes, according to their biased tastebuds, are superior. (But Cebu sort of makes up for this by going big in the export of mangoes in concentrate puree form or as dried fruit delicacy.)

We posed the question to information officer Mon Callejo of the Bureau of Plant Industry and opined that Guimaras may have been found by those in the business to be sweeter, less fibrous and generally better looking. We speculated that they are also less prone to infestation and therefore deemed safer by finicky importers.

It is no coincidence that one of the five government R&D (research and development) centers for mangoes is on Guimaras island. Callejo said this used to be in Bataan, but that the center, seedlings and all, was moved to Guimaras some years back.

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QUARANTINE RULES: Infestation is no mall matter. Once traces of a fruit fly, for instance, are found on just one fruit in a huge shipment, the entire block is condemned and importation from that source likely to be suspended, if not terminated.

(Even locally, we have quarantine rules. Callejo gave the example of mangoes from his home province Palawan, called “mampalang,” that are not allowed to be taken out of the island because a number of them have been found to carry pests.)

To make sure mango exports are pest-free and pass quarantine abroad, the fruits are first taken to the Food Terminal Inc. where they are carefully inspected and given the Vapor Heat Treatment required by foreign regulations. Technicians of importing countries monitor the process.

The fruits are sized, individually wrapped in plastic and packed in sturdy boxes marked as having passed inspection and treatment. The usual destinations are Japan and Korea, with the US trailing them.

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KOREA HELPS OUT: Instead of just monitoring inspections, South Korea has taken a pro-active role in ensuring the good quality of Philippine fruit exports.

With Korea’s help, the trade department’s Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions initiated in 1992 the Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) project to boost export earnings.

Identifying mango as a prime export item, CITEM tapped the Korea Food Research Institute (KFRI) to help develop technology to delay the ripening of mangoes and allow the seafreight of thin-skinned varieties.

Mangoes packed in carton boxes lined with zeolite-coated film and stored under prescribed conditions can survive an additional three weeks before full ripening. With this, our mangoes can now aim for Europe and other distant markets.

The plastic wrap selectively restricts gas exchange, delaying the ripening of mangoes by increasing carbon dioxide and reducing the oxygen in the air around them. Extensive tests showed that there is no significant effect on taste or the general appearance of the fruit.

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P.A.L. BOUNCES BACK: Avelino L. Zapanta, Philippine Airlines president, is brimming with good news lately. After slipping into the red last year, PAL posted a record P983.9 million net income for the April-to-June period this year, the first quarter of its current fiscal year.

He said the surplus, the largest quarterly profit in PAL’s 61-year history, largely made up for the P1.6-billion annual loss the flag carrier suffered in the preceding fiscal year. That deficit was caused mainly by the fallout from the Sept. 11 terror attacks on the US.

This year’s P983.9-million first-quarter profit was more than twice its P457.7-million net income for the same period last year. The airline surpassed its internal budget target nearly nine times over.

It spent P343 million less on fuel and P84.4 million less on maintenance — its top two expense items — than it did last year. Zapanta said its operating expenditures were cut by nearly one billion pesos to P8.67 billion, despite having essentially the same assets and organization.

Operating revenues stayed flat at P11.4 billion, leading to an operating income of P2.73 billion – 45 percent higher than a year ago. Financing charges of P1.5 billion and other charges of P251.8 million further brought down profits to the bottom line of P983.9 million.

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FRITTERED OWWA FUNDS: It’s the opposite situation at the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.

We bumped into Bulacan Rep. Willie Villarama days ago and the first thing he told us was the “sloppy management of current assets and criminal neglect of past investments” that he said were draining the funds held in trust by the OWWA.

He lamented that more than P1 billion in OWWA investments have not been redeemed. He added that while the agency continues splurging on questionable programs, it has been stingy on spending for members’ benefits.

“OWWA is actually in the red,” Villarama said citing the agency’s records. “This means if all the benefits/claims theoretically fall due today, OWWA would come miserably short.”

“For instance, its matured investment and corresponding interest on the Smokey Mountain Project Participation Certificates amounting to P906 million as of the Oct. 11, 2000, maturity date have not been redeemed, resulting in losses in term of opportunity lost,” he said. “At 8-1/2 percent per annum interest, the outstanding OWWA investments would amount to some P1.021 billion as of this date.”

He said the initial OWWA investment of P93,150,205.48 has been rolled over as SMPPC failed to pay back upon every maturity date. “By Oct. 12, 2000, its investments in the SMPPC had a face value of P835 million and maturity value of P906 million. Again, the SMPPC failed to meet the demand for payment,” Villarama said.